Today, Harris County voters have the final opportunity to cast their ballots to decide who will be the Republican and Democratic nominees in a slate of statewide and local contests.

Those heading to any of Harris County’s 545 vote centers on Election Day will also help determine which candidates will be on the ballot for the United States presidential race in 2024.

The March 5 Primary election is the first-ever joint primary in Harris County where Democratic and Republican voters can cast their ballots at the same polling locations on the same machines.

According to Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth, the Harris County Republican and Democratic party chairs decided to do a joint primary with the Harris County Clerk’s Office Elections Department after a legislative change required the county to add more than 100 additional vote centers than it had in the 2022 and 2020 primaries this year.

Hudspeth said that Harris County would not have had the additional equipment needed in time to carry out the election had it increased the number of polling locations.

There are 119 Democratic races and 122 Republican contests on the ballot. However, this can vary per party on where that individual lives. Most casting their votes can expect to see 56 to 65 races on their ballot.

When arriving at Election Day vote centers — similar to during the early voting period from Tuesday, February 20 to Friday, March 1 — voters can expect to be assisted by poll workers from their party or by either party. Democratic and Republican poll workers will have name tags to identify them as belonging to one party or the other.

Harris County also underwent a recent software upgrade that reduced the typically two-page ballot to one page. This is expected to make scanning the ballot paper process run smoother and more efficient for most voters, mitigating the possibility of paper jams and other technical difficulties.

Election Day voters can search for the nearest vote center at harrisvotes.com. The website will also show how busy a polling location is and the closest alternative locations with the lowest wait times.

Voters can vote at any of Harris County’s 545 Election Day vote centers on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Those who have not sent in their mail-in ballots and are concerned about them getting postmarked by 5 p.m. on Tuesday can surrender their ballots at the Harris County Clerk’s downtown Office at 1001 Preston St. Houston, Texas 77002 or any vote center and vote by regular ballot.

Voters surrendering their mail-in ballots at polling locations must bring their mail-in ballots with them, or they will have to vote by provisional ballot.